Wicked Witch of the West
The Wicked Witch of the West (or simply The Wicked Witch) was the Wicked and evil ruler of the Winkie Country in the Land of Oz and was greatly feared by the vast majority of everyone all throughout the land. This was true all up until she was exterminated forever with a bucket of cleaning water which she apparently was allergic. The Wicked Witch of the West was destroyed by none other than the human child known as Dorothy Gale of Kansas. Character The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character of L. Frank Baum, author and creator of the Oz legacy. Her one and only appearance in Baum's first Oz book out of the fourteen sequels he wrote is of course, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. She is strictly the villain and antagonist in the story even though in the original book she plays a rather minor role, being involved in only one chapter. The Wicked Witch rules over the yellow Winkies, the people of the West country in Oz, and she has enslaved a good majority of them to cook, clean and do other hard labor work in her yellow Castle or on her property. Unlike most versions of the story, the original Wicked Witch's castle is actually quite nice, for it is said that inside the Witch's home there are long hallways and many beautiful yellow rooms. The Wicked Witch also owns several groups of unpleasant slave pets that she has trained to do mostly bad things. She has killer bees, flesh hungry wolves, and killer crows who will destroy anyone on command because she hates intruders and strangers walking on her lands. It is said that she is so old that all the blood in her body dried up a very, very long time ago. And when Dorothy Gale was imprisoned within the Witch's home, her little pet dog Toto bite the Witch on her ankle as hard as he could, but no blood ran out because there was not any left. Baum describes her as being extremely manipulative, cunning, selfish, ugly, cold hearted and wickedly rotten to the very core. She is short with long stringy gray hair, wrinkled skin with warts and most of her teeth are missing. The Wicked Witch only has one eye, that she can see out of, the other eye is covered up with an eyepatch. But her remaining eye that works is as powerful as a telescope, and can see everywhere and anything across the land of Oz no matter how far off the distance may be. She wears funny looking, mixed-match clothing and carries a large, gaudy umbrella with her to beat her slaves or anyone who angers her, she also carries an umbrella to avoid contact with water. The Wicked Witch's evil plans to gain more power eventually backfires on her. And she is finally killed after trying to trick and take one of Dorothy Gale's (the child protagonist and main character of the story) charmed Silver Shoes, after enslaving her and her little black dog to work for her. When this happened, in anger and despair Dorothy threw a bucket of cleaning water on her, ultimately killing her as she melted away. After Dorothy defeats the Wicked Witch, the Winkies are free from her wrath and Dorothy is declared a Hero for ridding all of Oz from it's Wicked Witches once and for all. (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) History 205px|thumb|The Wicked Witch of the West by [[W. W. Denslow.]] Long ago, in the land Oz, before Dorothy Gale arrived, the Wicked Witch of the West conquered the Winkie Country to take over, with the help the Golden Cap that was tied to the Winged Monkeys. The Monkeys happened to be slaves of the cap and forced to obey anyone who wore it and spoke it's magic words. The Wicked Witch was a tyrannical ruler and made the Winkies her slaves to work day and night. Once the Great Oz tried to recapture the Winkie Country when he first arrived in Oz via hot air balloon, he tried to claim the West land as his own. But with the help of the Winged Monkeys, the Wicked Witch was able to fight him off and successfully run him out of the West for good. After that, the people of Oz never dared to reckon with the Witch of the West ever again or venture into the West lands in Oz which officially became the Wicked Witch's territory. Since no one ever wished to come near the Wicked Witch's turf, there were no roads in the West, not even one that lead to her yellow castle. After she had ruled the Winkies for many years, the Wizard of Oz sent Dorothy Gale and her three companions, the Scarecrow , the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion to destroy the Witch and kill her if they really wanted the Wizard to grant any of their wishes and send Dorothy back to Kansas. In self defense, the Wicked Witch of the West sent every creature she owned and she commanded: * First she used the whistle around her neck to summon 40 hungry Wolves with sharp teeth to kill Dorothy and her friends and tear them to shreds. Scarecrow and Tin Woodman saw them coming and the Tin Woodman slayed them all with his Axe. * Then the Wicked Witch of the West blew her whistle twice and summoned 40 Crows to peck out the eyes of Dorothy and her friends to blind them. The Scarecrow defeated all of them by grabbing them by the throat and breaking their necks. * Angered, the Wicked Witch blew her whistle three times and summoned a swarm of angry Black killer Bees to sting them to death. While Dorothy, Toto, and the Cowardly Lion were covered in Scarecrow's straw, the Black Bees died when their stingers broke on the Tin Woodman who was not at all hurt by them. * Then she sent a troop of Winkie slaves wielding pointed spears to kill the group. They were scared and frightened away by the Cowardly Lion who gave them a huge Roar! * Finally, she used the magical Golden Cap and used it's charm to call the Winged Monkeys a final time. She orderd the Monkeys to kill Dorothy and her friends. But due to the fact that Dorothy had a magic kiss from the good Witch of the North on her forehead which was the sign of protection and goodness. They captured Dorothy instead of killing her, and the Cowardly Lion, and destroyed the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman. With Dorothy as her slave, the Witch knew that the girl did not know how to use the Shoe's secret charm. So, she tried to steal the magical and powerful Silver Shoes from the girl. Dorothy became so angry and in a state of despair, she threw a bucket of water on the Witch, which melted her into a brown, shapeless mass putting an end to her wickedness. And freeing the Winkies forever. And to thank Dorothy for being a Hero, the Winkies restored the Scarecrow and Tinwoodman.(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) In The Wicked Years In this creative and tragically sad version, by author Gregory Maguire, The story of The Wizard of Oz is not seen through Dorothy Gale's eyes but instead everything in the land of Oz revolves around Elphaba Thropp, an outcast girl who was born green and misunderstood. She forms a very unlikely friendship while attending Shiz college with a rich and privileged girl named Galinda who becomes known as just Glinda. Later on in the story and in her bizzare life, Elphaba unwillingly becomes known as the Wicked Witch of the West by the people who live in the land of Oz. History She was originally a Munchkin girl, who was mysteriously born with green skin. She was born to Melena Thropp. Her biological father was the Wizard of Oz, who had had a one-night stand with Melena while her husband, Frexspar Thropp, a Unionist preacher was away. As such, Elphaba grew up not knowing who her true father was or why her skin was green. She had a half-sister, Nessarose, who was born with no arms, and who would later become the Wicked Witch of the East, and a half-brother, Shell, who would become the ruler of Oz after the Wizard and Dorothy Gale left. When Elphaba grew older she attended Shiz University, where she saw the mistreatment of Animals and became a dedicated animal activist for their rights. Ironically her room-mate was a upper-class rich girl named Galinda Upland, who later on went by Glinda and at first was initially mean to Elphaba but who grew to love her as a best friend and trusted pal despite their differences and background. Elphaba also became good friends with Fiyero Tiggular and with Boq, another Muchkin boy. They were all seemingly manipulated and their friendships were sabotaged by the infamous Madame Morrible of Shiz. This era ended when Elphaba and Galinda went to the Emerald City to see the great Wizard of Oz, who disappointed them, after which the two girls parted ways and grew apart. Elphaba disappeared for years and came to secretly live in the Emerald City, where she became a member of a terrorist cell against the Wizard who was against the thought of any animals having their own rights. There, she crossed paths with her old friend Fiyero again, and the two became lovers behind closed doors. However, Fiyero was tragically murdered by secret agents of the Wizard, for being in her apartment. Elphaba fled the Emerald City and disappeared again. She then joined a Mauntery, where she became a maunt for years, and somehow she blacked out many of these years, claiming to have few memories of anything that transpired. During this sad time in her life, she gave birth to a son, Liir, who's father could possibly be Fiyero's, but Elphaba had no memory of this and so didn't know if he was her real son or not. The two eventually traveled to Kiamo Ko in the Winkie Country, where Fiyero's family lived in a big castle in the mountains, as Elphaba felt guilty for carrying on an affair with Fiyero, who had been married to a woman named Sarima, who still lived in the castle with her sisters and her children. Elphaba didn't have the strength to admit what she had done, and Sarima welcomed her and Liir into the castle to live as long they wanted. And so Liir would play with Sarima's children who were mean to him, yet who were also his half-siblings, though he didn't know this and neither did anyone else. When Sarima and her family were captured and taken away from the castle by the Wizard's army of soldiers for political reasons, Elphaba inherited the castle, living there with Liir, Nanny, Chistery her pet Monkey and other animals. Eventually Dorothy Gale from Kansas came to Oz, killing her sister Nessarose when her farm house was dropped on her by the Kansas Cyclone that had picked up the house in the first place. Glinda gave Dorothy Nessarose's magic slippers for protection and sends Dorothy to the Emerald City to get the child out of the way. Glinda does this without Elphaba's permission. This causes a rather unfixable falling out between the two and Glinda and Elphaba never speak again. Dorothy and her friends the Scarecrow , the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion were sent by the Wizard to kill her. When Dorothy confronted Elphaba, the Witch questioned the girl, assuming she had to be tied into the tapestry of conspiracies in Oz. But as it became apparent that Dorothy really was an innocent girl from a different land, a fire that caught on Elphaba's clothes. Dorothy tried to put out the fire with a bucket of water, which tragically and accidentally melted the witch away, killing her. (Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West) Her legacy and memory would carry on for many years, inspiring many to fight against repression. (Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men) In Film The 1939 musical movie In this iconic film, the Witch is Potrayed by late atress Margaret Hamilton. She holds a crackling and unflattering voice, has green skin, yellow fingernails and teeth and wears all black and flies on a Broomstick that fills the sky with thick and dark black smoke. History The Wicked Witch of the West is a very powerful Witch who uses black magic and is the ruler of the Winkies. When her sister, the Wicked Witch of the East is killed by Kansas farm girl Dorothy Gale, she appears in Munchkinland and demands to know who killed her sister. When she finds out it was Dorothy, who is also wearing her sister's magic Ruby Slippers, the Witch threatens her but hasn't the power to overcome Glinda. But she promises to return and take her sister's Slippers back from Dorothy. Over the course of Dorothy's journey to see the Wizard, she appears repeatedly and threatens her again, ultimately motivating the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman to join her party out of defiance to the Witch, and motivating the Wizard of Oz to see her. When Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion are sent to kill her and bring her Broomstick back as proof, she sends her flying Monkeys to capture them in the Dark Forest and tries to take Dorothy's slippers, threatening to drown Toto in a river below her castle if she doesn't give them to her. She is unable to take them while Dorothy is still alive, so locks her in a room for an hour to figure out the best way to kill her without damaging the slippers' power. Toto escapes and goes back to the Dark Forest, and gets the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion, who get her out of the room, but the Wicked Witch and her guards chase them and corner them. In the movie, Dorothy's reasons for throwing the bucket of water are different; The Wicked Witch decides to kill everyone else before Dorothy, starting with the Scarecrow by setting him on fire. Dorothy throws a bucket of water to put out the fire, which is unwittingly thrown onto the Wicked Witch in the process, causing her to melt. The Witch also has a counterpart in the Kansas world: a rich, grumpy single woman named Almira Gulch who seeks to have Dorothy's dog, Toto, put down. There is some ambiguity as to whether Gulch turns into the Wicked Witch of the East or of the West in the Tornado when Dorothy sees her transform in the window. However, it can be argued both ways. (The Wizard of Oz) The Wiz Both in the stage show and 1978 movie, the Witch is potrayed by Mabel King . The Wicked Witch of the West is known as Evillene in the African-American version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Despite Evillene fancying herself as beautiful, her outward appearance matches her true inside. She is very ugly in the face, wearing too much eye makeup and pimples on both of her cheeks. She wears an unflattering tacky dress that is completely covered in every inch by embroidered jewels, gems, pieces of gold, silver and other gaudy items. She also wears several gold dented crowns upon her head and lots of rings on her fingers and long red painted nails. Her castle is an underground sweatshop and her royal throne is a giant toilet seat beside a flaming furnace. History Evillene rules over the yellow land of the West in Oz, enslaving its the Winkies. She is evil, heartless, power hungry to get what she wants and is always in a bad mood. She sees Dorothy and her friends on there way to destroy her, so in defence and evilness she quickly sends her Winged Monkeys to capture them ("Funky Monkeys"). Once back in the castle, Dorothy and the lion are put to work alongside the winkies. The Scarecrow and Tinman are no where to be found. Evillene tries to take the shoes from Dorothy. But the lion insults the witch, which makes her furious. Just before the witch could do harm to him, Dorothy throws a bucket of water on her which causes her to melt away.(The Wiz (stage)). In the film version, Evillene is an evil tyrant who runs a sweatshop in the sewers of Oz. She so finds out Dorothy is in Oz and has killed her sister. So she sends all her henchmen out to get her. all fail except the flying monkeys ( a motorcycle gang). They bring Dorothy and her friends to the factory, where Evillene slices the Scarecrow in half, flattens the tinman. and hangs the lion by his tail. She then lights a fire where she will burn Toto. Dorohthy soon surrenders and begins to give Evillene the silver slippers. But just before she can, the Scarecrow hints her to a fire alarm. She pulls it and activates the sprinklers. They successfully put the fire out and also manage to melt Evillene in the process (who is allergic to water). (The Wiz (movie)). :The role was portrayed by Mabel King in both the stage and movie versions. File:Evilene_sausage.jpg|Mabel King as Evillene on Broadway File:Wiz21.jpg|Evillene melting File:The Wiz (5 8) Movie CLIP - No Bad News (1978) HD|Mabel King as Evillene The Wicked Witch of the West Anime film In the 1982 Japanese anime film the Wicked Witch of the West is portrayed with grey skin and is voiced by Elizabeth Hanna. ''The Muppets' Wizard of Oz'' as the Wicked Witch of the West.]] In The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, Miss Piggy plays all of the witches of Oz including The Wicked Witch of the West. Her basic attire was a homage of W.W. Denslow's illustration, with a "Biker"/Diva theme. The eyepatch also covered a magical glass-eye that gave her visual powers. After Dorothy (played by Ashanti) kicked her in the face, she disappeared down the drain leaving her magical eye. The Witches of Oz The Wicked Witch of the West travels to Earth to hunt down a grown up Dorothy who, as a child, hid the key of Oz from her following her deal with the Wizard. Once she planned to obtain the key from Dorothy, the Wicked Witch of the West plans to take over Oz, then Neverland, Wonderland, Narnia, and Camelot. In this film, the Wicked Witch of the West is shown to be allies of Langwidere and Nome King. To get close to her, the Witch disguises herself as a PR agent named Billie Westbrook seeking to represent Dorothy (whose 'Oz' books are becoming famous). As Westbrook, the Witch slowly acclimatises to life on Earth (as being away from Oz "makes you forget" about magic) until her true identity is revealed by the Scarecrow causing her to regress to her true form and call forth her entire forces. When the Wicked Witch of the West obtains the key from Dorothy, she discovers a holographic message from the Wizard stating that she was given a fake book and that she has been tricked. When Dorothy gets through to the Witch's Billie half, the Wicked Witch of the West regresses back to Billie before fading away in a bright light. (Dorothy and the Witches of Oz) Oz the Great and Powerful :Main Article: Theodora In this Disney prequel to the 1939 film, This story takes place twenty-five or more years before Dorothy Gale arrives. It explains how the Wizard came to Oz and how he became the ruler of the Emerald City. Also it explains the orgins of the Wicked Witch before she became ruler of the West. She is portrayed by Mila Kunis. History She was originally known as Theodora the Good. Theodora is the youngest of the three witches in Oz who are all sisters. And she seems like she is good and wants peace. She is, however, naive, sheltered, neglected and a helpless romantic. After having been the subject of prejudice against witches all her life, she meets Oscar Diggs, a stranded Circus man from Kansas who was carried to Oz by a Cyclone. Theodora immediately starts to fall deeply in love with him. Oscar is a 'ladies' man and also the first man to ever ask her to dance. But he also is a Con-man and scam artist. He kisses her during their dance and convincingly makes it appear as if he is in Love with Theodora as well. She also believes he is the one prophesied to become the King of Oz after her father the King of the Emerald City died. And she believes he can defeat the Wicked Witch, who had been terrorizing the Land of Oz with her Winged Baboons. She has great faith in Oz, as a savior. When Theodora takes Oz to the Emerald City, inside the Throne room, they meet Evanora, Theadora's older and sophisticated sister. But who later lies to Theodora and says that Oz flirted with her as well, and even asked her to dance with him. This makes Theodora furious and heartbroken. Evanora eventually turns her against the Wizard, by tricking her into eating a magic green apple, supposedly to dull the pain of heartbreak. After taking a bite, she starts to feel strange, and realizes that Evanora is really the Wicked Witch, who she had previously believed to be Glinda, but she has already been corrupted by the apple and as a result it destroys the good and innocence inside of her forever and she is permanently transformed into the Wicked Witch of the West. (Oz the Great and Powerful) :After her transformation, she greatly resembles the Wicked Witch as seen in the 1939 movie. In Video Games Emerald City Confidential After Dorothy's defeat of the Wicked Witch of the West, her castle in Winkie Country was torn down and replaced with the town of Flow. The Witch herself was somehow imprisoned in a magical rod along with the other three Witches of Oz. This disabled most of the magical defenses of Oz, allowing the Phanfasms to begin to consider a new invasion of Oz. When Ozma realized this, she sent Petra on a mission to release the spirits of the four witches. Petra released the Wicked Witch of the West, who then fought with The Frogman. (Emerald City Confidential) In Television Lost in Oz The new Wicked Witch of the West is known as Loriellidere, played by Mia Sara. In this pilot she does not have green skin. Instead she has large, lime-green pupils. She is not the same Wicked Witch encountered by Dorothy Gale over a century prior; rather, she's the successor to that Wicked Witch. (Lost in Oz) Veggietales In the VeggieTales episode "The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's", the Witch is replaced by Chester the Bully (Gourdon), his Kansas counterpart being Bobby the Bully. At the end, the Bully gets wet but does not melt and his parents take him home after finding him in the Land of Ha's. Tin Man The Witch of the West is known as Azkadelia. She has taken over much of the O.Z. and run it into the ground, being a cruel ruler. She and DG are sisters, both daughters of Lavender Eyes. She was separated from her sister as a child when the two girls found the original Wicked Witch of the West, trapped in a cave. The Witch took over her body, leading her to become the new Wicked Witch. She imprisoned her mother in a miniature habitat in her castle. She also commands an army of flying monkeys. (Tin Man) Supernatural The Wicked Witch was a powerful being from Oz, a place within the Fairy World. She had armies of Flying Monkeys and of Witches, with which she planned to conquer our world. She could not be killed by most means, as Dorothy had tried burning, decapitating, and slashing her with holy water, to no avail. She had the ability to control people by touching them, and to turn into green-black smoke and travel that way. She did not seem to be able to talk, except through the people she possesses. She also could not kill Dorothy, who was protected, and so the two went into a sleep for 75 years, waking up in 2013. The Witch attempted to find the Key to Oz, so she could bring her armies to this world. However, she was killed by Charlie Bradbury with the Ruby Slippers. (Supernatural: "Slumber Party") Once Upon A Time The Wicked Witch, known as Zelena, appeared in the second half of season three of Once Upon a Time. She is portrayed by Rebecca Mader. History For her first appearence, she sends a flying monkey to get a drop of the Evil Queen's blood. (Once Upon a Time: "New York City Serenade") When they finally meet each other, Zelena reveals to the Queen Regina that they are actually half-sisters. Indeed, their mother Cora, the future Queen of Hearts, sent her away before Regina's birth, so she lived in Oz and met the wizard Rumplestiltskin, who taught her magic just like her sister. Extremely jealous about the life, the mother, and the approbation Rumplestiltskin gave to Regina to cast the Dark Curse, Zelena has now as goal to take everything away from her. Her enemy warned, she flies away on her broomstick. She also appears in Storybrooke, one year after those events. As she has cast a curse which erased everyone's memory of her, she mingles with the townsfolk, her skin no longer green, identifying herself only as Zelena. She befriends Mary Margaret and offers her advice on her coming child. (Once Upon a Time: "Witch Hunt") Wicked the Musical Act I The citizens of Oz celebrate the death of the Wicked Witch of the West as Glinda descends in a floating bubble. She recalls that the green-skinned Elphaba, who would become the "Wicked" Witch, was conceived during an affair between Munchkin Governor's wife and a mysterious stranger with a bottle of green elixir. Everyone was repulsed by Elphaba from the moment she was born, and so Glinda asks the Ozians to empathize ("No One Mourns the Wicked") with her side of the story. The remainder of the plot forms an extended flashback through the events of Glinda's and Elphaba's lives. At Shiz University, the pair first meet amongst students reuniting with their friends ("Dear Old Shiz"). Elphaba is hardly surprised that all the students, including the popular but shallow Galinda, revile her. Elphaba was sent to Shiz to take care of her beautiful, wheelchair-bound younger sister Nessarose, who is presented with a bejeweled pair of Silver Shoes, being their father's favorite. Despite Elphaba and Galinda's instant mutual loathing, Madame Morrible, Shiz's headmistress, makes them roommates. Galinda has been excluded from the Sorcery Seminar, but when Elphaba betrays an innate magical talent in sudden anger, Morrible notes that her talents may be of use to the Wizard of Oz. Elphaba dreams of what she and the Wizard could accomplish together ("The Wizard and I"). Galinda and Elphaba later write home about their unfortunate room-mate assignments ("What is this Feeling?"). The students gather in a history class taught by Doctor Dillamond, a Goat and Shiz's only Animal professor, who keeps mispronouncing Galinda's name as "Glinda". Doctor Dillamond confides in Elphaba that something is causing the Animals of Oz to lose their powers of speech ("Something Bad"). Elphaba believes that the Wizard is the only one who can help. Fiyero, a Winkie prince, then arrives at Shiz and impresses his cavalier and carefree living on the students ("Dancing Through Life"). Besotted with Galinda, aMunchkin named Boq asks her to accompany him to a party, but having felt "perfect together" with Fiyero, Glinda asks him to invite Nessarose instead. Nessarose, not realising Galinda's real motives, is delighted, and tells Elphaba that she wishes she could repay Galinda. Later, Galinda discovers a black pointed hat and gives it to Elphaba as a mock present. Elphaba, remembering how happy Galinda had made Nessarose (and not realising that she had ulterior motives), asks Madame Morrible to reconsider Galinda in her Sorcery Seminar, in return. When, however, Elphaba arrives at the party wearing the hat, she is only ridiculed. Defiant and unfazed, she proceeds to dance alone. Feeling guilty, Galinda joins her, marking the start of their friendship. Meanwhile, Boq convinces Nessarose that it was not pity that prompted him to ask her out, but the fact that she is "so beautiful", not realizing the full extent of Nessarose's affections towards him. Elphaba tells Galinda that her father hates her, for good reason. When her mother became pregnant again, she had been fed milk-flowers to prevent her second child from being born green-skinned; the milk-flowers instead caused Nessarose to be born prematurely, which left her crippled whilst her mother died in childbirth. Feeling sympathetic, Galinda decides to give Elphaba a personality makeover, making her admirable to fellow students ("Popular"). The next day, Doctor Dillamond is arrested. The new history teacher arrives with a caged lion cub as the subject of an in-class experiment, revealing that Animals are to be kept in a new invention he has created, called a cage, the benefit of which is that Animals raised in them will not have the power of speech. He reveals that soon all Animals will be turned dumb, and Elphaba is outraged. She and Fiyero steal the cub and set it free, and as Elphaba begins to discover romantic feelings towards Fiyero, she personally reaffirms that she "wasn't born" to be loved ("I'm Not that Girl"). Madame Morrible finds her, announcing that Elphaba has been granted an audience with the Wizard in the Emerald City. At the train station, Galinda, Fiyero, Nessarose and Boq see Elphaba off, all happy for her accomplishment. When it becomes apparent that Boq is not genuinely interested in Nessarose, Galinda feels guilty and suggests that Boq is not the right person for Nessarose, who in turn insists that it is herself "that's not right." Elphaba expresses concern about leaving her younger sister, but a protesting Nessarose insists she will manage without her and leaves. In an attempt to impress Fiyero, Galinda announces that she will change her name to "Glinda" in honor of Doctor Dillamond's persistent mispronunciation. Fiyero fails to notice and leaves. Glinda breaks into tears. Feeling badly for Glinda, Elphaba invites her along to see the Wizard. After a day of bonding and sightseeing in the Emerald City ("One Short Day"), Elphaba and Glinda meet the Wizard. Eschewing the special effects he employs for the benefit of most visitors, he invites Elphaba to join him ("A Sentimental Man"). In testing Elphaba's true talents, the Wizard asks Elphaba to perform a levitation spell on his monkey servant, Chistery, using the Grimmerie – an ancient book of spells. Madame Morrible delivers the book to Elphaba. Elphaba demonstrates an intrinsic understanding of the lost language in the book, and successfully gives Chistery wings. However, Elphaba can see that he seems to be in pain and demands that they show her how to reverse the spell. Unfortunately, Morrible tells Elphaba "spells are irreversible". The Wizard then reveals a cage full of winged monkeys, proving the extent of Elphaba's powers. He makes the comment that they will make perfect spies. Elphaba now realizes that they have been behind the troubles in Oz all along. It was he who robbed the animals of their speech and created the cages. Elphaba is shocked that her once-admired hero is actually a criminal and a fraud. The Wizard wants Elphaba to join him in "creating a really good enemy" for the Ozians using her powers. Elphaba grabs the Grimmerie and runs off and Glinda runs after her. Realizing that she may know too much about his plans, the Wizard sends Morrible and his guards after Elphaba and Glinda. They finally reach the attic where Elphaba uses a broom to barricade the door. Morrible's voice is then heard outside a nearby window, warning all of Oz of this "Wicked Witch" and her horrible deed to the innocent monkeys. Elphaba and Glinda now must choose which path their lives will take. Ultimately, Glinda chooses to take a life living with the Wizard and becoming a public figure within Oz. Elphaba, however, decides to use her newly learned powers of levitation to fly away from the palace, against the Wizard and do what she believes is right. Using the Grimmerie, she places a spell on the broom (with which she barricaded the door). Elphaba tries to persuade Glinda to join her but she refuses. Elphaba understands and calmly accepts her friend's choice and they wish each other the best before Elphaba flies away from the palace guards when they break into the attic. But this public act of defiance convinces the Ozians of her true wickedness forever. ("Defying Gravity"). Act II Elphaba becomes increasingly ostracized. A few months have passed and her opposition of the Wizard's regime has earned her the title "The Wicked Witch of the West" (reprise of "No One Mourns the Wicked"). Rumor has it that the witch's soul is so impure that pure water could melt her. Glinda, now the Wizard's assistant and adored by everyone, is engaged to Fiyero. Informing him that Elphaba does not want to be found, Glinda puts on a happy front despite Fiyero's waning affections ("Thank Goodness"). Meanwhile, Elphaba arrives at her old home, the Governor's residence in Munchkinland, seeking refuge. Nessarose is the Governor now, and laments that their father "died of shame" after Elphaba defied the Wizard. She criticizes Elphaba for not using her powers to help her sister. Guilty, Elphaba enchants Nessarose's jeweled shoes, turning them into the ruby slippers and enabling her to walk. Boq is summoned, and he bemoans that Nessarose is as "wicked" as Elphaba for stripping the Munchkins of their rights and prohibiting them from leaving Munchkinland. Nessarose explains that she did this to keep Boq with her, but is sure that he will stay with her of his own accord now that she is no longer crippled. However, Boq insists that he should now be free to pursue Glinda instead. Hurt and angry, Nessarose attempts to cast a spell from the Grimmerie to make Boq lose his heart to her, however her ability to understand the Lost Language of Spells is not as good as her sister's, and she mispronounces the magic words which causes Boq to literally lose his heart. While Elphaba attempts to save him, Nessarose reflects on how being "alone and loveless" has led to her wicked actions, and fears that she deserves her infamous new title ("The Wicked Witch of the East"). Elphaba says that nothing will ever be enough for her sister and leaves her for good, despite Nessarose's frantic pleas for her to stay. When Boq wakes up, he is horrified to discover that Elphaba has transformed him into a Tin Man, so he could live without a heart, and Nessarose lays the entire blame on her sister while Boq runs away in horror, believing that Elphaba has cursed him for leaving her sister. Returning to the Wizard's palace, Elphaba tries to free the remaining winged monkeys. The Wizard attempts to regain her favor by agreeing to set them free, recounting how the Ozians hailed him as the Wonderful Wizard when he first came to Oz. He says that she could be hailed by everyone if she joins him ("Wonderful"). Upon discovering the now-speechless Doctor Dillamond amongst the monkeys, however, Elphaba rejects his offer. While attempting to escape, she bumps into Fiyero, who runs away with her, confirming that he loves her in return. Glinda sees this and is crestfallen that she has been betrayed by those closest to her (reprise of "I'm Not that Girl"). When Glinda states that Elphaba can be lured by spreading a rumor that Nessarose is in danger, the fiendish Madame Morrible creates a cyclone that brings Dorothy's house to Oz and crushes Nessarose to death. During this, Fiyero and Elphaba express their love ("As Long as You're Mine"), but Elphaba senses that her sister is in danger. Before she flees to help, Fiyero explains to Elphaba that his family has an empty castle far away. He promises her she can hide there and that he will go to join her. She then flies to Nessarose, but she is too late. The palace guards capture Elphaba, but Fiyero intervenes, allowing Elphaba to escape before surrendering himself. The guards drag him to a nearby cornfield to be tortured or even killed, unless he tells them of Elphaba's whereabouts. At the castle, Elphaba tries to cast any spell she can to save Fiyero, but thinking she has failed, she begins to accept her reputation as "wicked" ("No Good Deed"). Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Boq – now the Tin Man – and the Cowardly Lion are sent to kill Elphaba and bring her broomstick to the Wizard ("March of the Witch Hunters"). It is revealed that the Cowardly Lion is the lion cub Elphaba set free; Boq claims that she turned him into a coward by not letting him fight his own battles. Meanwhile, Elphaba captures Dorothy, refusing to release her until she relinquishes Nessarose's ruby slippers – the only things left of her dead sister. Glinda travels to Elphaba's castle to warn her of the trouble and persuade her to let Dorothy go. Although Elphaba refuses, the two women forgive each other for all grievances, acknowledging they have both made mistakes. Elphaba makes Glinda promise not to clear her name and to take charge in Oz, allowing Elphaba to disappear. To help her in her future, Elphaba gives the Grimmerie to Glinda. The two friends embrace for the last time before saying goodbye forever, and acknowledge that they are who they are because they knew each other ("For Good"). Immediately after, when Dorothy throws a bucket of water on Elphaba, the witch appears to melt away. Glinda, not quite sure what has happened, sees that all that remains of her friend is her black hat and a vial of green elixir. Back at the Emerald City, Glinda reminds the Wizard that he has an identical bottle, and it is revealed that the Wizard is Elphaba's biological father, being the stranger with whom her mother had an affair. Madame Morrible surmises that Elphaba had special powers because she was a child of both Oz and the outside world. Glinda orders the Wizard to leave Oz and sends Madame Morrible to prison before returning to the opening scene of the show. Meanwhile, Fiyero had in fact been turned into the Scarecrow when Elphaba had cast spells, therefore saving him from the Ozian guards' spears in the cornfield. He opens a trap door in Elphaba's castle, down which she had descended, only pretending to die. While Elphaba and Fiyero leave Oz forever, Glinda continues her bittersweet celebration with the citizens of Oz. They gaze up at the sky, individually appreciating their true friendship and acknowledging that they have changed for the better because they knew each other ("Finale"). In Merchandise File:6e2b6cfd9bb19494f3e05e6c2ce46876.jpg Credits *The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910): Eugenie Besserer as Momba *''The Wizard of Oz (1939): Margaret Hamilton *The Wiz(stage)'' (1975):Mabel King as Evillene *''The Wiz(movie)'' (1978): Mabel King as Evillene *''The Wizard of Oz'' at Madison Square Garden (1997): Roseanne Barr *''The Wizard of Oz'' at Madison Square Garden ( 1998): Eartha Kitt *''Lost in Oz: Mia Sara as Loriellidere'' ' *''Wicked'' (2003): Idina Menzel as Elphaba *''The Muppets' Wizard of Oz'' (2005): Miss Piggy *''The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's'' (VeggieTales) (2007): Gourdon as Bobby the Bully and Chester the Bully *''Tin Man'' (2007): Kathleen Robertson as Azkadellia *''Dorothy and the Witches of Oz'' (2011): Eliza Swenson as Billie Westbrook *''Oz: The Great and Powerful'' (2013): Mila Kunis as Theodora *''Once Upon a Time'' (2014): Rebecca Mader as The Wicked Witch. Background The Witch has often been used by modern storytellers as the primary antagonist of Oz, despite the fact that she only appears in one chapter of the first book. In subsequent Oz books, it is the Nome King who is the principal villain; the Wicked Witch of the West does not appear after the first book, and is rarely referred to again. Despite this, she makes frequent appearances in modern works based on Oz, and as such has been both re-imagined and expanded upon a number of times. In Alexander Melentyevich Volkov's The Wizard of the Emerald City, and in subsequent Magic Land books, her given name is '''Bastinda. March Laumer uses this name for the witch in his Oz books. Like in the 1939 movie, she is the sister of the other Wicked Witch. Her vulnerability to water seems to be not because of her evil, but something inherent; she said a death from water was predicted for her five centuries ago, and she avoided all contact for that long. Her melting is compared to snow - she disappears without a trace. In L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz: The Graphic Novel the Wicked Witch was drawn to resemble a pirate, and in Marvel's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz she appeared as an old woman peasant in the country of the Winkies. References in popular culture *In the Digimon anime, one of the Wizard of Oz references occurs when Angewomon destroys LadyDevimon, who says "I'm melting!" *Donkey repeats the line in Shrek 2 when it begins to rain. *In the not-so-popular animated TV series, Detention, there is a point when Gug refers to Serena as the "Wicked Witch of the West" because she locked him in the costume shop. *In The Swan Princess 3, Zelda, the main antagonist, refers to herself as a Wicked Witch of the West as she is absorbing power of the Forbidden Arts. *In Shrek The Final Chapter Rumpelstiltskin's witch army has the same weakness as the witch: water. This is further referenced as he pours water on one, causing her even to scream "Oh, what a world!" Only her hat is left. *In That's So Raven Raven as Dorothy was melted she said "I'm Melting!" *In Batman ''(1989), Vicki Vale throws a pitcher of water in The Joker's face and he mimicks the witch melting. *In an episode of ''Mighty Morphin' Alien Rangers, a miniseries of the Power Rangers franchise, the Rangers fight a monster called Witchblade, whose voice closely resembles the Wicked Witch from the 1939 film. Additionally, much of her dialogue consists of paraphrased quotes from the Wicked Witch in that film. References Wicked Witch Of The West Wicked Witch Of The West Category:Wicked Characters Category:Wicked Category:Witches Category:Antagonists Category:Villains Category:Winkie Country Category:Rulers in Oz Category:Once Upon a Time Characters